What makes us different?

ActionStation's vision and guiding principles

OUR STORY

ActionStation is the new force for people who believe in a fair and flourishing Aotearoa New Zealand. Together we are building a vehicle for people of all backgrounds to unite independent of party politics, special interests and the usual labels that divide us.

We act together, in new ways and in real time, to create what we cannot achieve on our own: a society, economy and democracy that serves us – everyday people and the planet we love.

OUR VISION

ActionStation believes in a New Zealand that is fair and flourishing, with courage and compassion at its core.

We believe in a robust democracy powered by informed and connected citizens, guided by accountable leaders.

We believe in putting everyday people and our precious planet first, and building a society and economy that truly serves us.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

We are independent

ActionStation is independent from any political party, corporate or government influence. Our allegiance is to our issues, our values, and most of all our members. We push friends when they need it, reward traditional opponents when they earn it, and always tell our members the full story.

We are grassroots

ActionStation is of the people, by the people and for the people. Power & legitimacy from the collective action of regular people. We operate on an “outside power theory of change”, because our members are outside the power structure. We don’t depend on being invited in by decision-makers. This approach puts power where it should be: the hands of regular people.

We are member-led

‘People power’ isn’t just a nice slogan at ActionStation: it is ActionStation. It’s why we’re here and how we get things done. Being member-led means being member-funded and therefore accountable only to our members. It also means offering our members the service of helping them work with others to create the change they want to see in the world. Our staff team is responsible for providing excellent strategic guidance, skilful execution and high quality information to our members.

We are progressive

What are the ActionStation values? We have no manifesto, no rigid ideology. We come together to act in support of: fairness, human rights, the short and long term health of the planet, deep democracy, and human flourishing as a collective enterprise.

We oppose bigotry, greed that hurts people and unnecessary violence.

HOW WE WORK

We are nimble

We “chase the energy” for maximum impact. The sweet spot is when “high information” and “high actionability” combine. This often happens unexpectedly and when they come, the energy flow demands we pounce. This means we work in a low bureaucracy environment and we know that done is better than perfect. We have the courage to listen, learn, try – and fail or succeed – try again. We lead from curiosity and openness, rather than having all the answers.

We use full-spectrum campaigning

Our core service to our members is to offer them good strategy and coordinated action to turn each of their many resources into social change. This includes their voice, social networks, money, creativity, reputation, physical presence, vote, and much more.

We are multi-issue

Organisations think in “issue-sectors.” People think in crises, opportunities and values. So we act where there is passion and the potential for change. We aim to “cross pollinate”, i.e. expose folks from one issue and to high priority moments in another. We commit to be “movement generous”, we depend on partners and we are prone to collaborate, honour and support those we find.

Technology is a tool

We use digital tools, but we are not an “online organisation”. We are a campaigning community that uses digital tools. Technology is a critical tool (this we means we invest in it). But tech is only a tool. We judge tech use on impact.